A Conversation
by TheJesusFreak777
Summary: Victor and Ida meet over coffee. Oneshot. Fluff.


The Conversation  
A/N: Well, I read The Thief Lord for the first time in third grade, and then again in sixth, and I just read it for the third time. It remains to be my favorite book of all time, even if it is a bit of a children's book. I just love it too much. So please read and definitely review. :)  
_

Victor felt the cool breeze overcome him. It parted his dark hair and made him shiver. The canal in front of him rippled as the wind blew across it. He checked his watch. Maybe she was just late. Punctuality is not exactly her specialty...

He tried not to feel nervous. He was, of course, not a man who enjoyed waiting. He had never been, for that matter. His nighttime excursions were a thing of the past, so he no longer had to wait on thieves to walk out into the light. He did, however, have to wait on Scipio to return with the facts.

Victor drummed his fingers on the café table, trying to quench his agitation. The waitress came past and asked him if he wanted to order yet. "No," he decided. "I'm waiting on someone, you see, and I can't start without her."

So the waitress nods and heads away. I feel the stiff wind come again, and it picks up my newspaper and flutters the pages. I sigh. Where was she?

As he was absorbed by watching the river, he didn't notice when someone sat down across from him. Only when a soft voice said, "Hello, Victor" did he jump.

"Ida!" he exclaimed. "You scared the hell out of me."

She smiled. "I'll have to try harder for now."

He shook his head, laughing. When the waitress came by again, they ordered.

"How are Prosper, Bo, and Hornet doing?" he asked her as they waited on their food.

"Good. Prosper has good marks in school, Hornet even better. Have you see Mosca or Riccio any lately?"

He frowned. "Occasionally. Been a while. Why?"

"I was wondering," she says with a sigh. "They miss them terribly. And Scipio?"

"He's doing excellent, actually," Victor responded, this time with more enthusiasm. "He and I have actually been hired for a murder case. It's a lot different than tracking down stolen handbags."

Her eyebrows jumped in surprise. "I'm sure it is. But is he..." She groped for the right word. "He's well?"

"Yes. I think he misses Hornet. He's seeing a woman now, actually, looks to be about twenty-five, maybe, and since he seems to be around twenty-seven, I think, they've been dating." Victor shrugged. "And you've been?"

"Excellent, thank you. An American magazine is going to publish some of my pictures soon."

"That's good," he answered, smiling.

"Yes," she agreed, looking a little proud. "Yes, it is."

The two talked for ages, until the cafe closed and they were forced to begin walking along the canal. Victor didn't usually prefer canals, so he stayed on the other side of the walk and she beside him. They gazed out at the black water flowing out into the night. Ida sighed.

"Would you get on that merry-go-round if it worked?" Victor wondered aloud.

She lit a cigarette and buttoned her jacket up, flipping up the collar against the wind. "I don't know." She blew out some smoke. "Maybe."

"I would," he murmured. "Lots of things I'd like redoing."

"Really?" she asks, tipping her head up to look at him. She held his gaze for a few moments before pulling a camera out of her coat pocket and snapping a picture of the canal. "Enough to go back from everything you've done?"

"The merry-go-round is like the Fountain of Youth, in a way," Victor mused aloud. "I think I'd like to stay like this forever. Maybe not exactly like this. High school me was much more attractive."

She glanced up at him once more. "You'd miss the fun if you could live forever, Signor Getz."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," said Ida, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"And what fun is there here?" He gestured around with his arms. "It's honestly been quite dull ever since I got the kids back. I'm plenty busy, just not excited."

She smiled. "There's always something magical about this city, Signor Getz." She lowered the camera and he looked down into her lined eyes. He pressed his lips to hers, and for a few blissful moments-or perhaps eons, Victor had no clue-they stayed like that, kissing under the streetlights of Venice.

"Magical," Victor Getz muttered under his breath. "Indeed."


End file.
